1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of refrigerator preservation systems, and more specifically, to a vacuum storage system for domestic refrigerators.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known that exposure to oxygen over time promotes deterioration of food products. Therefore, packaging food in vacuum sealed containers aids in preserving food products and extending their shelf life.
Various vacuum preservations methods for foods have been developed, including numerous countertop evacuation appliances and vacuum-sealed refrigerated drawers. Counter top devices, such as Foodsaver® appliances, vacuum-seal thermoplastic bags or canisters; however, such devices must be stored in cabinets or on the counter top, taking up valuable counter or storage space. In addition, these devices must be plugged into an outlet for each use and may require multiple attempts to seal the bag or canister properly. Further, when a user wishes to remove food from a container, he/she is required to proceed with a number of cumbersome steps in order to reseal the container. Moreover, sealing wet or liquid foods within flexible bags can be difficult and messy.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,875 is directed to a refrigerator drawer for storing fruits and vegetables which plugs into a vacuum source in a refrigerator to evacuate air therefrom. The drawer contains a mechanism to release the pressure in order to open the drawer and retrieve the food. Notably, every time a user opens the drawer to retrieve food, the vacuum source must be re-activated in order to evacuate air from the drawer.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0090427 is directed to a refrigerator including an integral vacuum sealer that connects to bags and containers via multiple hoses attached to a vacuum source inside the refrigerator. Multiple hoses within a refrigerator compartment are inconvenient and bulky. In addition, when a user desires to evacuate the air from multiple containers, he/she must plug a separate hose into each container before switching on a vacuum source. Furthermore, improper positioning of the hoses with the vacuum ports on the containers may result in little or no evacuation being achieved.
Based on the above, there remains a need in the art for a refrigerator vacuum sealing and storage assembly that permits the simultaneous evacuation of numerous containers without multiple connection steps, and that does not require activation of a vacuum source every time a user desires to remove food from the assembly.